1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to educational board games and more particularly to a board game regarding Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, (AIDS).
2. Description of the Prior Art
At the present time there exist many sources of educational information related to the epidemic of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) including videos, posters, televised public service announcements, books, and even letters from the Surgeon General. As long as no cure, vaccine or largely effective medical therapy is available, prevention will remain a very important factor in this as in any epidemic. In the case of AIDS, there is general agreement among authorities and public health officials alike that education is one of the most important means of slowing this epidemic.
Many of the above mentioned sources, although informative and in some cases containing meaningful messages have not brought about behavior changes applicable to the prevention of AIDS. Indeed, there remains concern about the risk behaviors of young people, especially teens--given reports of increasing teen pregnancy rates, and college age students--given studies showing a high prevalence of risk behaviors and little use of protective measures.
To my knowledge, an AIDS education tool in the form of a board game does not exist and might be devised such that it would give a lasting impression on persons playing the game, especially young people. It is known that many children and young persons have often played at various board games for recreation during their formative years. The intent of this invention is to draw on that familiarity and interest and by means of providing a unique mechanism for AIDS education as well as a more personal "experience" of the AIDS epidemic to accomplish superior behavior changes consistent with prevention.
Given that a major goal of any AIDS educational tool is behavior change, the present invention sustains the following objectives:
1. To provide an educational yet interesting board game in which the players experience personally the AIDS epidemic and the difficulty of survival as well as the devastation of the illness.
2. To provide an environment within the game to simulate the epidemic's effect on persons important to the players.
3. To provide a base of learning pertinent to the AIDS epidemic of a scope beneficial to all age groups.
4. To demonstrate the actual mortality of the epidemic and its manner of rising.
5. To provide simple simulations of other factors important to the AIDS epidemic overall--medical care by physicians, hospitalizations, antiviral treatments, and the function of an Epidemiologist.